Saturday, September 27, 2014

The first three panels were intended for a show in Portland. I always wanted to do the whole series of seven, but ran out of steam. But now here I am three years later and these great ideas find me! I've spent a lot of time drawing this month, I guess having my imagination in gear all the time has paid off. I'll blog more later. Fighting a cold and I can't keep my eyes open.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

You've heard me talk a lot about counting my blessing. A lot of times it's a morale booster when I'm feeling funky. I've heard it said a couple of times lately, "Well Dave, it could be worst." I don't like the idea of backwards blessing. I think there are enough blessings right in front of us. The reason I say that is, I remember when I was in an art class years ago, the teacher warned us to not compare our work to other. He said "You'll always find somebody who is better or worst then you, and you can get in the habit of focusing on your neighbors piece when you should be concentrating on your own."

Things have gotten a little heck-tick lately. I'm living the homeless shelter here in Boise for now, and I can still say to you honestly, that I'm happier than I was six months ago. I still don't have a car. I have to ride the bus and I get lost a lot. Still looking for a job. Haven't seen the little kids but two hours since I got back from New Mexico. But Griffin has been diligent, and a rock, and a big help. Oh yeah, and I'm not still having symptoms, but I'm not in the hospital, and I'm holding it together,

The first night I was in the shelter I didn't sleep very much. It was as bad as you might think ~ fifty to eighty guys you don't know, farting and snoring. and not knowing any of them or what they're capable of. Some nights are better then others. I still wake up all the time and think, "Oh man, am I still here?!"

It's not forever.

~ And I got pointed in the right direction for some good programs. I am surprised how much Boise is doing for the homeless. For now I have a place to sleep. Food to eat. Warm clothes & a soft pillow.

I always liked when the kids were little, Jennifer would help them to pray during family prayer. She would point out the simplest of things to them ~ soft pillows, toys, etc.

I still think of that now and again.

Funny story though ~ we have to do chores everyday. We've all heard the "don't drop the soap" jokes. Well, my chore one day was to scrub the big showers. I was throwing trash away and not thinking about anything, and I went to pick up a bar of soap that had gotten wet a stuck solid to the tile! There I was bent over doing all I could to pick it up ~

~ and suddenly I stand straight up and think ~ "oh shit! it's a trap!"

I have been drawing in diners and fast food restaurants for years. Me and waitresses get along well. I have dated quite a few and even married a few too. I like it when they call me "Darling" or "Sweetie," and they like watching me draw and the occasional free art work!

I'm drawing at a restaurant lately that has been a round a long time. All the waitresses that wait on me have been there a long time. You can tell that when they started there, all of them use to be really cute. Now they have been there thirty years and are now in there fifty's, and well, you draw your own conclusion.

When did we become our Moms and Dads?

These drawings are ideas for something. I just don't know what. Maybe Chicken Deadly Sin?

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Indulge me please. This is my favorite quote ~ EVER! I just found it and the link so I want to keep it in a safe place. Thanks ~ d.

"And now we're here - our memories are veiled - and we're showing God and ourselves what we can do. And nothing is going to startle us more when we pass through the veil to the other side than to realize how well we know our Father and how familiar his face is to us. And then, as President Brigham Young said, we're going to wonder why we were so stupid in the flesh.

"God loves us. He's watching us, he wants us to succeed, and we'll know someday that he has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfare of each of us. If we only knew it, there are heavenly hosts pulling for us - friends in heaven that we can't remember now, who yearn for our victory. This is our day to show what we can do - what life and sacrifice we can daily, hourly, instantly bring to God. If we give our all, we will get his all from the greatest of all."

Friday, August 15, 2014

As funny as it sounds I just realized that Harvey Wood is my first children’s
book ~ and being that as it may ~ this book is the one I will learn what to do,
and unfortunately , what not to do. I started character studies in April 2005. I’m
still working on that nine years later. I am learning how consistency of design,
color, and technique holds its way through the whole project. Think I have it.

Developing the world that Harvey lives in has been a real challenge. I have the story
already so I know where everything begins and ends. I even have it slated to
what goes on each page, but just couldn't put my finger on how it will look.
Until about six months ago! I was stuck on the first page; the house in the
Cascade Mountains.

I went over and over in my head, for years, what kind of house would Kelsey and McKenna live in? It took me years walking around make-believe forests looking for the right house. I finally stopped and sat down on a magic mushroom somewhere on a well-trodden path in the far reaches of my imagination, when it occurred to me to ask myself "Where would I live?" ~ Well I knew that right away! From then on everything clicked.

I lived in northern California for a year after
I got out of college in 1987. It was near my grandpa and all my aunts and
uncles and cousins. In fact I worked for one of my uncles. It was a dream come
true. My aunt bought my cousin and I tickets to U2 in Oakland, so I needed a
date. I thought of this girl named Barbie right away. She was nice. We talked at church a lot. She was pretty, smart, kind and she laughed at my jokes. But
what attacked me to her the most was that she agreed to go out with me at all!
I drove to her house and parked my car. What a great house!
It had a lot of history. My uncle and cousins talked a lot about it when I
got to work on Monday. Over the next year I was there all the time. Hanging out with them shaped
who I was for years to come.

I wish I was a stronger writer so that I could tell you more. There was a cool fireplace, french
doors, and a huge staircase. Barbie had a lot of brothers and sisters. I think a
million people lived in that house! I told you the Vicky story already. She was Barbie's younger sister and she was sitting
in the living room of this house the first time I saw her.

...and though that house and all it's people are now only memories,~ thank goodness some
memories last forever.

About the drawing. It still need to be painted but I'm on my way. This project has taken so long we now have to considerformatting for iPads and such.

Still shaky. They put me back on the blue pill this week. It hasn't kicked in yet. It wasn't too bad tonight. So that's a good thing.

You remember Ian's penguin?! Well I bought him this shirt for his birthday in January. It was 3 sizes to big then, and I thought I would have to buy a new one. Nope! He grew into this one! It's super cool to see them growing up.